Sea Change campaign: tackling ghost fishing gear

The ghost fishing gear crisis

Abandoned, lost and discarded nets, lines and traps are one of the biggest threats to our sea life. A staggering 640,000 tonnes of gear is left in our oceans each year. That gear traps, injures, mutilates and kills hundreds of thousands of whales, seals, turtles and birds annually. So, through our Sea Change campaign, we’re aiming to save one million animals by 2018.

By bringing together governments, businesses and fishing organisations, we can protect sea life and move towards a future free from the ghost fishing gear threat

Ghost fishing gear: our work

We’re working in three ways to protect animals from ghost fishing gear. We:

Bring together partners to stop gear being abandoned

Support new ways to remove ghost gear from the seas

Help to replicate successful local sea animal rescue efforts on a global scale.

Report ghost gear for our campaign

Despite the scale of the problem, one of the main challenges we face is finding ghost gear in the vast expanse of our oceans. We need your help.

We have created a platform for you to report ghost gear from anywhere in the world. By sending us your sightings you will help us identify hotspots and direct urgent action to where sea animals are most at risk.

Global Ghost Gear initiative

The Global Ghost Gear Initiative is a big part of our Sea Change campaign. By collaborating with a range of partners, we’re working to understand just how bad the problem of ghost fishing gear is – and to respond with solutions that work for animals and people. The seafood industry spends millions each year untangling nets from propellers, for example, so we’re developing solutions that protect animals and benefit businesses too.